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Friday, July 12, 2013

It's a hill...get over it.

Yesterday I was doing my scheduled Thursday training run - 3miles. Since there are some hills on the Baltimore Half course, I'm trying to do one run a week on hills. Yesterday was that lucky day!

At about mile 2.25, I was heading towards the last steep hill on my run. It's hot, I'm tired, and as I'm approaching the bottom of the hill my brain was saying "You can just walk quickly up the hill. This is your 4th run in the past 5 days, don't push it." But I didn't stop and walk - I switched the voice in my head and just said "You're not walking. Just put it in a lower gear and keep on running." - and I did.

When I got to the top of the hill, I had this burst of energy. I felt strong and proud of myself for making the hard choice.

As much as runners, myself included, claim to hate hills - secretly...I kind of love them. Downhills hurt my knees. Downhills are easy, they don't require a lot of effort and you can just coast. But the uphills? Those are a challenge. Those require WORK.

The uphills are what make you stronger.

It reminds me of a blog post I wrote back in 2010 when Isaac was on hospice (read it hear), about how much of Jesus I was seeing in that trial. The hard times, or the uphills in life, are where you have to rely on God the most. The challenges are where we get the unique chance to really glimpse God's work. They are the places where your strength and your faith are not just tested, but where it are improved.

When you choose to charge up the hills, you get stronger - in life, and in running.